When Adam Yates was asked at the UAE Tour pre-press conference on Sunday if he remembered the last time he did a team time trial, you could almost hear him scratching his head as he tried hard to remember the moment.

"That's a good question," he said. 'I really don't remember. But I do know that I won one in Tirreno - Adriatico in 2019."

However, Yates' record of TTT participation is uncertain; when we checked, his last TTT was the 2019 Tour de France. And he also knows exactly what tactics he used in Tuesday's crucial 17.2km specialty.

"Usually [in individual time trials] the time difference is not that big, but this time it could be the difference between winning and losing," Yates told a small group of reporters.

"But it's not that easy because I'm 10 kilos lighter than the next guy. So I want to keep running with the other racers to the finish line."

"If it was an individual time trial, it would be a little easier; you put your head down and run as aero as you possibly can.

"But in a team time trial, it could be really difficult. So you have to match your speed to the speed that the other riders are producing," he says with his typical wry humor, "and get out of the way."

"I've been on the team for a few years now," he says, "and I've been on the team for a few years now.

Leading his home team, UAE Team Emirates, in the two biggest stage races of the season, along with the Tour de France, seems like a big challenge for his first race with his new team. But if anyone has the track record to go the distance in 2023, it is Adam Yates.

"For the last three years I've raced really well here. The first year I won, and the next two years I was second to arguably the best bike rider in the world," - teammate Taddei Pogachar - "so I'm very confident. Of course, he won't be here this year, but there are a lot of good riders here, and it won't be easy. So I'll do my best."

Asked to compare his condition to his last press conference at the UAE training camp in Spain in December, Yates said the winter had gone well and "I'm definitely a lot fitter than I was then.

"I'm definitely a lot fitter than I was then," he smiled.

As for his winter training, he said, "If it's going well, there's no point in changing it. Training and racing are two completely different things, but hopefully I have the legs."

Prior to the two summit finishes and the TTT, Yates pointed to the opening stage as a potential GC challenge. As a result, crosswinds could have a serious impact, especially on the last 18km loop along the coast.

"Certainly tomorrow [Monday] will probably be the windiest stage. But our team is all strong, so we'll stick together as best we can," Yates said.

Indeed, if Yates can "stay out of the way and stay on the wheel" in Tuesday's team time trial, the UAE will be the frontrunner to win the day.

Former junior world TT champion Brandon McNulty, recent Australian national TT champion Jay Vine, and three-time U-23 world TT champion Mikkel Berg are all talented riders who will be fighting against the clock. Tadei Pogachar's absence will not go unnoticed, given his track record on the UAE Tour.

"Tadej is the No. 1 in the world, but we have a strong team and we have players who can challenge for victory," team principal Mauro Gianetti told reporters.

"For us, it was important to give Tadej a chance to change his program, and we decided to give him a quiet spring to do so. But in any case, we have Jay Vine, Adam, Marc Soler, and Brandon. It's a very good team."

Given the firepower the team has, Gianetti admitted with a slightly mean smile, "There might be some interesting conversations on the team bus in the morning. But it's nice to have this kind of challenge on the bus every race, and it's good chemistry. That's what I like about this sport."

"For Adam, it's a great opportunity in a race he loves. We are an ambitious team and I think all the riders like to be ambitious and they like the pressure. It's a good combination of emotions."

But in response to the UAE being the main contenders for a third straight home race, Gianetti said, "We are not the only ones who want to win.

"Stage 1, time trial, crosswind ...... This race may look easy on TV, but it is not. Anything can happen at any time. We have to focus all our attention during this week."